Łukašenka says West planned to attack Russia from eastern Ukraine

December 9, BPN. Alaksandr Łukašenka has justified Russia’s war by claiming that the West planned to attack Russia from Donbas, eastern Ukraine, but the Kremlin struck first.

Łukašenka-affiliated Telegram channel Pul Pervogo published a video clip of him speaking with a Russian reporter on the sidelines of the Eurasian Economic Union summit in Bishkek.

The Belarusian strongman said: “I told Putin that we will publish these facts soon, how they would have started a war against Russia from Donbas after the 2020 rebellion in Belarus, if the situation was favorable and NATO troops reached the Smolensk region’s border, seizing power from us. The reason would be that Russia had seized foreign territories. The war was supposed to start from there in 2021-22, but Russia has been proactive.”

On February 24, Russia launched a full-scale war against the Ukrainian people. The authorities in Minsk deny that Belarusian troops participate in hostilities. At the same time, the territory of Belarus was actively used by the Russians to attack Ukraine at the outset of the invasion and in later periods.